Dolphins Earn Their First Win by Trusting Malik Willis on Fourth Down

By Stacy James · HuddleUp NFL Sports Desk

Event date: October 25, 2026

The Miami Dolphins did not escape the pressure of an 0–5 start by playing a perfect game. They earned their first win by making one consequential decision late and trusting quarterback Malik Willis to finish it.

Miami beat the New York Jets 28–25 at MetLife Stadium, giving first-year head coach Jeff Hafley his first NFL victory and avoiding the franchise’s first 0–6 opening since 2019.

The final decision matched the day

The Dolphins’ official recap said Miami faced fourth-and-1 near midfield at the two-minute warning after the Jets had cut an 11-point deficit to three. Willis kept the ball, gained two yards and allowed the Dolphins to run out the clock.

That conversion completed a productive afternoon for the quarterback. The Associated Press independently reported that Willis completed 14 of 21 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns to rookie Caleb Douglas. He also ran for 37 yards and a score.

Ollie Gordon II rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown, giving Miami enough balance to build a 21–7 halftime lead. The Jets still recovered to make the ending uncomfortable, which made Hafley’s fourth-down choice more than a symbolic show of confidence.

Trust has to carry consequences

A coach can say he trusts his players without placing an outcome in their hands. Hafley’s decision did exactly that. A failed conversion would have given the Jets a short field and an opportunity to complete the comeback.

HuddleUp analysis: The best late-game decisions are not automatically the most aggressive ones. They are the ones connected to the evidence of the afternoon. Miami had moved the ball with Willis’ legs and Gordon’s rushing, and its line had already converted short-yardage situations. The fourth-down call extended that logic.

The locker-room celebration documented by the Associated Press reflected relief as much as triumph. That distinction matters. One win does not settle Miami’s season, but it changes the team’s working environment: corrections can now be attached to proof that the group can close a game together.

The standard begins after the celebration

The NFL’s Week 7 results list Miami at 1–5 and New York at 2–5. The Dolphins remain responsible for the problems that produced the opening five losses.

What Sunday supplied was a first shared success under Hafley. Leadership now means resisting the temptation to treat it as a rescue. The more durable lesson is narrower: build a plan around the players who are executing, make the difficult decision consistent with that plan and accept responsibility for the result.

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Newsroom transparency: This AI-assisted desk report was produced from the linked public sources and edited for accuracy and context. HuddleUp did not conduct an on-site interview. Read our Editorial Standards & Transparency.